Spectacled Prickletail

The spectacled prickletail (Siptornis striaticollis) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. == Taxonomy and systematics == The spectacled prickletail's taxonomy is unsettled. It has traditionally been thought most closely related to the greytails of genus Xenerpestes but there is some evidence that its closest relatives are genera Roraimia, Cranioleuca, and Thripophaga. The spectacled prickletail is the only member of its genus. The International Ornithological Committee and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World assign it two subspecies, the nominate S. s. striaticollis (Lafresnaye, 1843) and S. s. nortoni (Graves, GR & Robbins, MB, 1987). The Clements taxonomy treats it as monotypic. This article follows the two-subspecies model. == Description == The spectacled prickletail is 11 to 12 cm (4.3 to 4.7 in) long and weighs 12 to 13 g (0.42 to 0.46 oz). It is a tiny furnariid that resembles a xenops. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have dull fuscous lores, a whitish supercilium and partial eyering, rufescent ear coverts with tawny streaks, and brown malars with pale buff streaks. Their crown is dark reddish brown…